Django Off-the-chain!

So again this is a day late post, but, again I have a good reason!

Yesterday was like so many of my Wednesdays; brilliant. It started with an early driving lesson (my 6th) where I started doing some reversing and a lot of turning, gear changing and cruising round. Clearly, I can see that clutch control is what needs to be mastered. After my lesson, I zoomed over to Sainsbury's to meet Connor and catch a bus to Wrexham. When the correct bus drove straight past us without stopping we didn't know what was going on but luckily a stroke if genius decided we go to Morrison's bus stop and thankfully the bus there did stop!

The point of our trip was to experience the very much acclaimed new Tarantino film: Django Unchained. At the very least, it met all the high expectations. There are a number of things that make this film a success, these are the big performances - Jamie Foxx begins as an unintelligent and angry-as-hell slave and morphs into an expert bounty hunter with brains but still humanely gets overcome by emotion. Christoph Waltz is a joy to watch, charismatic, frequent use of big words and an excuse for all situations gets him by. DiCaprio plays the villain, he is a villain that apart from all the racism and cruelty is a likeable guy! Finally, Samuel L. Jackson, playing the equivalent of a white man in a very interesting role, manages a crucial impact.

Something this film does excellently is blending. The amount of different genres and labels that could be stuck on it is limitless - there are scenes where all the seriousness drops and it temporarily turns into a full on comedy, then there are scenes where the levels of tension soar and its almost a period drama.

Overall, it is an easy 10/10 and a film that I'd recommend to anyone. After the film at home I was treated to some quality football in the form of Real Madrid vs Barcelona - El Clasico! Also, my Dad was out at Old Trafford for the evening watching Man United open up another 7 point gap at the top of the table against Southampton, in a box!! I was indeed quite jealous!
The weekend saw Bangor's first win in over a month as they beat Connah's Quay 2-0 in the Welsh Cup and again my social levels leapt up as I saw some old faces.
Upcoming this weekend I am to hopefully see England rugby start the Six Nations with a win and check out the Attfield Theatre with 10 friends watching Seven Psychopaths!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

Let it snow!

So, this past week has been filled with film. Starting a week ago today when I saw Gangster Squad, then on Friday I went to the DVD exchange stall at Oswestry's indoor market and bought Public Enemies and Alien vs Predator. I also got Cowboys and Aliens from B&M bargains. Cowboys and Aliens is a brilliant hybrid of Western and Sci-fi where Daniel Craig teams up with Harrison Ford (not a bad pairing) to defeat aliens!

Public Enemies was hard to understand at the beginning but once I got it, it really took me! Aliens vs Predator was rather boring at the start and slow to kick off but is good when it does!
Because I'm very much looking forward to seeing the new Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained, I decided to watch some of his films and on Sunday saw Pulp Fiction for the first time. Start to finish I was hooked. It was such an unusually styled film and yet this worked really well! Add a mad story to an A list of stars and it's a method for success.
On Sunday I also made a fantastic discovery when my Dad told me about the Attfield Theatre in town. This is situated by the indoor market and has started showing some recent box office films - on Saturday they showed Skyfall! I am really glad of the discovery and will definitely be utilizing this great tool soon.
Finally, today I went to the DVD exchange market stall again as temptation got the better of me and returned with Tarantino's debut film Reservoir Dogs, RocknRolla and a waste of space Inglorious Bastards which I foolishly mistook for Tarantino's Basterds. Annoying!

Also in this past week the overdue snow has hit, and it packed quite a punch! Because of the snowfall, I've had Friday and Monday off school and there are signs (and hopes) of more downpour!
Of course, the snow wasn't entirely beneficial as Bangor's game was called off! United did play and succumbed to a last minute equaliser against Tottenham to drop 2 points but are still 5 clear!

I have recently finished reading Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and would definitely recommend it. A total masterpiece and worthy of all it's praise. Yesterday I started re reading Brian McGilloway's first Inspector Devlin novel: Borderlands. This is a great book and beginning of a series that I wanted to refresh my memory of.

This weekend my social levels have hit a recent high as Friday night I participated in a shed party with a group of friends I hadn't seen for months and on Saturday I went sledging and saw one or two more that I hadn't done for a while!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

3 point turn

Hello all! Again apologies for the lateness.

Yesterday was quite hectic, with my 4th driving lesson at 10AM - I learnt and rather accurately executed 2 three point turns! Also I have booked my theory test! Things are going well so far driving wise and hopefully I'll be able to pass a test. As soon as my lesson finished, I had to dash to the bus station as I was meeting Connor to head off to Wrexham!
The meaning of this journey was to watch Gangster Squad, a film that in retrospect I am glad I watched and definitely enjoyed it.
The day then turned to football, as I watched (at home) Man United narrowly beat West Ham in the FA Cup.

Last weekend was a bit mixed in terms of fortune, Friday night I ventured with Declan and my Dad to watch Bangor play at Bala - a game Bangor won 5-0 earlier in the season at home. The pitch was a mudbath and shouldn't have been played on and yet another blatant handball in the box was not given. Bangor lost 2-1 and my hate for Welsh Premier referees grew.
On Saturday me and Dad went to watch Shrewsbury play bottom of the table Hartlepool and got frozen witnessing a bland 1-1 draw.
The best was on Sunday, when United went temporarily 10 points clear and beat Liverpool 2-1 in a tense game that I was relieved to hear the final whistle in.

This weekend I hope to see some friends that I haven't for a while (the one thing school is a lot better than college at - keeping in touch) and I may go to watch Bangor in the last game of the season before the top six split.

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

One down, plenty yet to go

Sorry for being a day late! It is because today I have had my first college exam.

This was psychology, an hour and 15 minute test that I feel I have done alright in. Going into the exam I felt I would be happy with a pass so hopefully that's what I've achieved.

On a lesser academic note, I am currently reading Stieg Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and am absolutely loving it! I'm nearly a hundred pages in and hooked. I took notice of this book when I heard my friend recommending the film, then mum mentioning we have the book!

Also today I have finished watching Spartacus Gods of the Arena. This is the second and prequel series, set before Blood and Sand. Like Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I have been hooked and amazed by this. Next up I am to start watching Sons of Anarchy series 1!

Last weekend, Bangor were held to a 2-2 draw at Llanelli because of an absolutely shocking referee decision. United were saved by Robin van Persie in the dying minutes against West Ham. Throughout the week Bangor have made a few transfer additions and I look forward to seeing the new blood on display tomorrow night at Bala town! On saturday me and Dad are going for the first time since the end of September to watch Shrewsbury!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.

Back in the saddle!

So, today is my final day of freedom.

Tomorrow, the chains are re-established as I drag myself back to college. In seriousness I'm looking forward to catching up with people and some lessons but definitely not my psychology exam!! It will be alright though, I've just got to work hard and get me head down!

My time off has been good, spent the majority of it at home relaxing, watching films and tv. At the moment I'm watching Strike Back: Project Dawn which is really good action stuff! I recently watched Cowboys and Aliens, a great film starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford as traditional cowboys who stumble upon and fight with aliens! This film has ignited quite an interesting in Westerns for me, so I will be exploring and watching some now!

On Friday night I was up at Bangor with 700+ others watching Bangor throw away a 3-0 lead and drawing 3-3 with Prestatyn - soo disappointing! On Saturday things were quite different, I was sat in the middle of a 75,000+ crowd watching Man United beat West Brom 2-0. The best moment was van Persie's goal right at the end, it was scored at our end and the whole place erupted!

Things have been good and I am glad to have gotten a good on time post today! Also I did not go driving today as my instructor is on holiday but am looking forward to it next week!

Thanks for reading!
-Andy.